Health & Fitness
Help Your Child Succeed in a New School
Moving from school to school is stressful on civilian and military families alike, these few steps will make the experience manageable.
Children go through many stressful issues when moving from school to school. That is especially true for military families.
Young people worry about making new friends, understanding their new teachers, jumping in after all the classroom rules are set and understood by others. They worry because nothing is familiar to them except the feeling of being alone in a new place.
Follow these five tips to help your child be successful in school.
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1. Identify your child's strengths and interests. The theory of Multiple Intelligences indicates we all see the world through eight main “lenses” and each individual has a unique distribution of these intelligences: reading/speaking, math/logic, music, visual, movement/sports, interpersonal/sociable, reflective thinker, nature-lover. Find out what the school has to offer in your child's main areas of interest.
2. Review your school’s website for information that can help you frame questions about your child's opportunities at that new school or after school activities your child can participate in. Are there opportunities for you to volunteer?
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3. Meet with your child's teachers early on to gain clarity about his or her expectations and your child's responsibilities. How can you help make it work?
4. Find out about and use the school's library and multimedia area, which is always an indication of what is important for that particular school. Are there activities you can participate in with your child?
5. Investigate if the new school works with daily planners or calendars, a way for your child to organize homework, responsibilities and activities. If the school does not use daily planner, get one for your child and help him or her get organized around the new school.
When parents are involved (without hovering) in young people’s learning, they feel that support and are bound to do better in school.
What is one successful way you have gotten involved in your child’s schooling?
Anne Doan is an Assistant Professor at the University of Arizona South. A lifelong educator, she is an expert in educating students in hardship areas. She blogs at Teach to the Core.
